Senior Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mohammad Atif Khan Friday said historic Bala Hisar Fort in Peshawar will be opened soon for tourists for which the relevant authorities including the Corps Commander Peshawar have already been taken on board.
Addressing a seminar 'Way Forward for the Tourism Sector of KP, Launching of KP Tourism Sector Analysis" in Islamabad he said as many as 35 government owned rest houses previously limited to the government functionaries have been opened to the public tourists while more such facilities are been taken from different provincial government departments for opening by the Tourism Department for tourists.
He said the provincial government has selected 20 tourists' destinations for immediate development of which ten have been shortlisted and master plan for five is almost ready.
He said the Tourism Task Force constituted recently will be meeting the Prime Minister on November 7th and the KP chief minister next week so that the full support and backing of both the federal and provincial governments is availed of and they are taken on board with regard to the development of tourism in the province.
The seminar was participated by a large number of tourism experts and tour operator while the Country Director World Bank Pakistan Illango Patchamuthu and Tourism Specialist Wouter Schalken also addressed it besides others.
Findings and salient features of the studies 'Key Reforms for Tourism Industry' and 'KP Tourism Sector Analysis' were also presented on the occasion. These studies were later thoroughly discussed in different penal discussions followed by question-answer sessions.
Mohammad Atif Khan, who also holds the portfolio of tourism said Golf Club Kabal in Swat will also be opened for tourists while a Specialized Tourism Police Force will be recruited to help, guide and assist the tourists in the Province. With regard to the Hospitality Management School Swat, the minister said that it is been upgraded to the Centre of Excellence in Hospitality.
He further told that an independent Tourism Authority is being established to facilitate both domestic and foreign tourists. He said by developing and harnessing the tourism sector, on the one hand, revenue for the Province will be generated while it will contribute a lot to the creation of jobs and employment opportunities in the province on the other hand.
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